Before the Cherry Trees

by H. D'Agostino

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Before the Cherry Trees Playlist

  Other Works by H. D’Agostino

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Before the Cherry Trees (The Cook Brothers #3)

  H. D’Agostino

  Copyright © July 2017 by Heather D’Agostino

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  The following story contains mature themes, profanity, and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.

  Cover design and formatting by Cassy Roop @ Pink Ink Design

  Editing by Kellie Montgomery @Eye Candy Bookstore

  I DON’T KNOW how I got here. I thought we could get through anything, but apparently, I was gravely mistaken because here I sit…alone. I know exactly when it happened. It was slow, and the pieces fell away little by little until the crack was so big that no glue could fix it. I tried, god I tried, every day but she just gave up. It was like a piece was missing, and the harder I worked to fix it the more she crumbled.

  “We’re going out for drinks tonight,” my youngest brother, Tyler, knocked on the doorway to my office. “Wanna join?” I shrugged as I shuffled some papers around on my desk. The truth was I didn’t have anything better do. If I didn’t go, I’d just head home and stare at the TV or the wall and eat some microwave dinner alone. “You can’t keep doing this,” Ty stepped forward and sighed as his eyes stared at me with pity.

  “I know that,” I grumbled before finally deciding that if I was ever going to fix this I needed to stop sulking. “What time?” I glanced up at him just in time to see a grin spread across his face.

  “Around seven. That work for you?” he rocked on his heels and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

  “Tay going?” I mumbled.

  “Yep. Morgan’s watching the kids tonight. I think she said something about inviting Mia over too. Girl stuff,” Ty rolled his eyes. Even at twenty-nine he acted like a teenager.

  “I’ll meet you there,” I turned to place the papers behind me, and then wiggled my mouse to wake up my desktop. I had a few things to finalize before I could even think about leaving for the day.

  “Oh no. I know how that goes. You won’t show. I’ll meet you at your place, and we’ll walk over together,” Ty narrowed his eyes before he turned and walked back out the way he came. I shook my head before going back to what I’d been staring at.

  “Stupid petty thief,” I muttered as I clicked at the keys. Some punk had been stealing nails of all things from Taylor’s store and we finally caught him last week.

  When late afternoon turned into evening, I powered down my computer, locked up, and headed to the small apartment I’d been staying in down the street. It wasn’t much, but for the last eight months, it was home.

  WHEN I PUSHED through the doors of Cowboy Up, our local bar, I found Ty and Tay sitting at the bar. Ty had sent me a text shortly after he’d left earlier in the day stating that I would have to meet him because Mia had needed him to come home for something. That was code for ‘I’m getting laid before we go out’. I remembered those days when Sharron would show up at the station or I’d go home for lunch. Young love was magical, and I was happy for my brothers.

  “Bro!” Taylor waved from where he was sitting and motioned me over. I nodded as I weaved through the crowd. For a hole in the wall, this place did well. Of course it was the only bar in town, and it was a Friday night.

  “What’s up?” I climbed onto the stool they’d saved for me.

  “Not much. Glad you finally caught that punk that’s been stealing from me. What’s up with you?” his voice was upbeat, but his expression said otherwise. It showed pity, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. I knew he cared. They all cared. The problem was, no one could explain to me how to fix it. I was always the one fixing people’s problems. I was the voice of reason when Chrissi latched onto Ty. I was the one who supported Taylor when he became a single dad at nineteen. Now that I’m the one with the problem, none of them seem to know how to help me.

  “I saw her today,” I muttered as I accepted the beer Ty pushed my way.

  “And?” Taylor’s eyes raised as he waited for me to elaborate.

  “She looked terrible. I mean, she looked as bad as I feel,” I shrugged. My explanation didn’t sound very good, but I didn’t know how to explain it any better. Sharron and I had known each other since we were kids. We’d had the type of relationship where we could just look at one another and know what the other was thinking. This is why this is so hard. I can’t read her like I used to be able to, and I don’t know how to fix it.

  “I don’t understand this,” Taylor sighed. “If she’s miserable, and you’re miserable, why are you two doing this to yourselves?”

  “She wants this,” I tossed my hands in the air. “She asked me to leave, so I left.”

  “But,” Ty looked at me, confusion written all over his face. “Dude, you two have been together since I was a kid. I don’t understand how you can throw all that away.”

  “I’m not,” I sipped my beer angrily. “She is,” I tipped it back again and chugged. I needed to numb myself from this pain that had been settling inside me for months. I’d been trying to do what she asked, but it was slowing killing me. It hurt to be here away from her knowing that she was breaking inside. Part of her was lost, and I know I’m the only one that can fix it, but she won’t let me. She won’t let me in, and every time I try to do anything, she pushes even harder.

  “I’m sorry,” Taylor shook his head. “Morgan’s tried talking to her if that makes you feel any better.”

  “Thanks, but my main concern is the kids. Ken’s been applying to schools nearby because he’s afraid to leave. He’s had two baseball scholarships offered, but is afraid to take them because they’re both far away. I don’t want my marriage taking precedence over my kid’s education.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Ty clapped me on the back. More pity. Pity was all I got these days. “I went away to school and ignored my problems. I turned out ok,” he shrugged.

  “Yeah, you knocked up the boss’s daughter and screwed half of New York in the process. I don’t know if you’re the best example here,” I smirked as I finished off my beer and motioned for another one.

  “You’re just jealous. You’ve only been with one woman. Maybe you need to change that,” he shoved my shoulder and I spun to face him.

  “Don’t talk about my wife like that,” I growled.

  “Sorry,” he lifted his hands in front on himself. “I just know that you need something to help you snap out of this. If she’s not giving in, maybe it’s time.”

  “I’m not giving up on her. I just need her to remember. I need her to remember what it was like before all of this tore us apart. I need to remind her
of why she fell in love with me in the first place. I need her to forget all the schedules, the ovulation tests, the blue and pink lines; I need her to feel us again without the pressures of making a baby.” I shook my head as I grabbed the fresh beer.

  “Maybe you should date her again,” Taylor suggested as he lifted his own beer. “You know? Remind her?”

  “I need to do something,” I shook my head. “Because this is slowly killing us.”

  I’D SPENT MOST of the day helping residents of Cherryville navigate the weather. Snow had been falling all day, and there had been no less than ten people in the ditch. Life as the town sheriff was never dull, but this time of year seemed to always keep life interesting. Over the years, I’ve found missing kids at the Cherry Festival, knocked on a few doors to rat out kids who were pulling pranks during football season, helped some of the small businesses in town stop petty theft, and my favorite… managing the crowd at the tree lighting each Christmas. Now that Kenneth is older, he likes to tag along occasionally. Michael has been begging me lately to help but I think it’s more of him wanting to earn Brownie points for all the bad shit he does. That kid is going to send me to an early grave if he keeps it up. I remember when my brothers and I would do stupid stuff, but Mikey takes it to a new level. I’m surprised my brother hasn’t been around lately. CJ has gotten himself talked into quite a few things where my kids are concerned.

  Today, I’m supposed to be helping Taylor with getting the tree anchored in the town square. The ladies are going to be decorating it tonight, and once the sun goes down they’ll start the festivities. My wife, Sharron, always heads this up. I haven’t heard from her today though. Usually she’s sending me no less than a hundred texts a day. We’ve managed to keep that newness that comes at the beginning of a relationship in ours over the years. I’ve known her since I was ten, and after the day we met I knew she’d be my wife eventually, I just didn’t know how young we would be.

  Getting married at eighteen was never the plan, but Ken kinda changed that for all of us. My wild ways were quickly tamed, and we settled into married life, and I went to the local community college to get my degree in Criminal Justice. Sharron stuck by me over the years as I worked to become the town sheriff, and graced me with another son that began giving me gray hair at the age of thirty. I thought we were happy, but over the last year and half, Sharron has been slowly changing right in front of me.

  When Morgan came back to town, it stirred something in her. She began casually mentioning having another baby. I thought she was crazy. Our sons were finally at a point where we could live a little. Mikey was eight, and independent enough that Ken could easily watch him. Having a baby would put us right back at the beginning. Diapers, late sleepless nights, and naps would rule our life again, and I really didn’t want to go back there. I was happy with the way things were, but Sharron wanted a daughter.

  We spent many nights talking, arguing, and trying to come to an agreement that we both could live with, but as Sharron pushed, I gave in. Having another baby wouldn’t be that bad, and a little girl that looked like her would be the perfect addition to the family. We started trying immediately, but it seemed the universe just didn’t agree with us. I have to admit, the trying was fun… at least at first it was.

  I didn’t put a lot effort into it like Sharron did. I’d be at work some days and she’s just show up. At first she was all sexy about it. I’d get little messages on my desk and then in she would waltz with an overcoat covering some sexy lingerie. Of course, I’d stop whatever I was working on and help her out. Who would turn down sex in the middle of the day with a sexy woman? Me at some point, unfortunately. The little trysts turned into scheduled visits as test after test revealed that it wasn’t working, until one day it did.

  “Honey?” Sharron called out, causing me to close out the window on my computer and lean back in my desk chair.

  “I’m here,” I answered as I pushed back in my chair and slowly stood. I prepared the speech in my head as I readied to tell her we could keep trying, and it was ok that it hadn’t worked yet. I’d said the same thing in many different ways over the last year, and I was slowly running out of ways to spin it.

  I made it to the front of my desk before she came bursting through my door. Her face was flushed, and even though she tried to hide it, her lips were curved into a small smile. Her dark hair hung down her back with a few wisps clinging to her face. The red Christmas sweater she wore every year to the tree lighting covered what I knew was still a rocking body. Sharron had one thing that the other women in this town didn’t… she didn’t age. Well, in my eyes she didn’t. Her eyes twinkled merrily as she slowly stepped forward. Her lip caught between her teeth when she stopped in front of me.

  “We can keep trying,” I sighed as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

  She leaned into me and pressed her forehead to mine before she whispered, “Merry Christmas,” one hand that had been behind her back coming around as she lifted a small box in front of me.

  I looked at it with confusion. We never gave each other our gift early. “It’s not Christmas yet,” I slowly took it from her.

  “I know,” she giggled. “Open it,” she stepped back to give me space and waited.

  I slowly pulled at the ribbon taking my time to draw it out as Sharron bounced on her toes. Patience was never her thing, and I loved teasing her about it. I set it aside as I removed the lid, and nestled in a piece of red tissue paper was a pregnancy test. Two little lines were glowing pink on the end. I lifted my eyes to meet hers and see she was now crying. “It worked?” I set the test to the side and wrapped my arms back around her. Her head bobbed as she leaned in and hugged me tighter. “You’re pregnant?” She nodded again. “How long?” I pulled back to look in her eyes.

  “I took the test this morning. I still have to go to the doctor, but it’s really happening,” she sobbed into my neck. “You’re happy, right?” she released me and tipped her head back.

  “Of course I’m happy. I’ve just been so used to the other result that I’m adjusting here,” I pressed my lips to hers in a soft kiss. “This doesn’t mean we stop the practicing, right?” I chuckled.

  “You’re terrible,” she smacked my chest as she stepped back.

  “And you love me,” I smirked as I crossed my ankles.

  “Yes, I do,” she giggled. “I have to meet Morgan in the square to work on getting the tree decorations organized, but you and I have a date later,” she waved her fingers as she turned to leave my office.

  “A date,” I had an idea of what she was talking about, but we had this way about us and I always pushed her to be vocal.

  She huffed as her head dropped back and she stared at the ceiling for a moment. Her eyes slowly closed as her mouth spread into a wide grin. “The boys are planning to go over to your brother’s house after the celebration tonight. Ken already asked if they could sleep over. I told him yes. So,” she turned back in my direction, “we have the house to ourselves. I was thinking since it’s so cold that maybe you’d like to keep me warm.”

  “You want to have our own party?” I tipped my head to the side, “Instead of going to the one at Tay’s?”

  “Our party will be clothing optional,” she giggled as she stepped through the door without a second glance.

  Damn, my wife knew what to say to make sure I didn’t get shit done for the rest of the day. All my mind was going to focus on now was her naked body. Images of the two of us making love in front of the fire, or in the shower, hell… the kitchen counter were all that I was going to be able to think about. “Down boy,” I shifted from my slouched position as I adjusted myself and moved to power down my computer. I guess now would be as good a time as any to help get that tree ready.

  “IT’S ABOUT TIME you decided to show,” Taylor groaned as he lifted the bag of salt that was sitting in front of him. “Help me with this,” he pointed to another one as he began sprinkling the sidewalk in front of the hardware store.

/>   “Shouldn’t your kid be doing this?” I grumbled as I followed suit. Normally I’d give him a hard time since I’m the oldest, but Sharron had my emotions all stirred up today.

  “He’s shoveling snow down at the diner for that stunt he pulled last week,” Taylor sighed. “Your kid is a real prankster,” he narrowed his eyes on me.

  “You know they learned from the best,” I shrugged.

  “Exactly,” Taylor turned just as our youngest brother Tyler stepped outside.

  “What did I do?” Ty tossed his hands in the air.

  “You live here. That’s enough,” Taylor grumbled.

  “Is this about CJ? For fuck’s sake. It was funny,” Ty rolled his eyes.

  “You didn’t get salt in your coffee,” Taylor muttered before carrying the bag of salt inside.

  Last week, Mikey and CJ asked if they could go down to the diner to meet some friends for hot chocolate. I didn’t see an issue with it until Marg, one of the servers, called me to come down there. Apparently, Mikey had talked CJ into switching all the sugar out for salt, and then loosening the lids. Luckily, my brother had been the first victim in the prank, so no customers were angry but Taylor made sure that I knew it was my kid’s fault. I’ve been apologizing for Mikey’s behavior since he was a toddler. Now that Ty lives here, the pranks have been worse. Ty was my generation’s prankster.

  “I can’t wait until summer when Greyson comes back. He’s old enough to teach some of this crap to. You just wait,” I pointed my finger at Ty.

  “Bring it, big bro,” Ty taunted.

  “Bring what?” Mia, Ty’s fiancé asked as she rounded the corner. Ty froze as I began laughing uncontrollably. Tyler slowly turned around to face her as his face went from surprised to self-assured in a few seconds.

  “Baby, what are you doing here?” he smiled as he gritted out the words. His eyes flashed to where I was still snickering before going back to Mia.

  “I’m supposed to meet Morgan at the square. I decided to walk today. Now you wanna tell me what’s going on?” she tapped her foot as she crossed her arms.